Quarter of CCGs’ BCF contributions to shrink

Nearly a quarter of clinical commissioning groups will be allowed to contribute less to the better care fund next year than the minimum requirement in 2015-16, NHS England has confirmed.

HSJ’s analysis of CCG allocations data shows that the minimum required contribution to the fund from 49 CCGs will fall in cash terms from 2015-16 to 2016-17.

NHS England confirmed this analysis was correct. The national commissioning body explained that its formula for calculating CCGs’ BCF contributions had not changed, and the falls were mostly due to low levels of funding growth in some CCG areas.

Under the better care fund in 2015-16, a minimum of £3.8bn was pooled between councils and CCGs to be spent on integrated health and social care. The pooled funding eventually totalled £5.3bn because both sides volunteered extra money for the shared pot.

In 2016-17, the minimum designated for the pooled budget will rise to £3.9bn – an increase of less than 1 per cent. However, how it is distributed will change.

However, some CCGs will receive relatively little of the funding growth, as NHS England’s allocations formula diverts more of the new money to areas judged as underfunded.

CCGs’ BCF contributions fall in areas with low funding growth in order to reflect the lower proportion of the groups’ funding going into the BCF nationally.

The table below shows the 20 CCGs whose minimum BCF contribution will fall the most next year.

CCG

Minimum BCF contribution 2016-17, £k

2015-16 BCF, £k

Change in cash terms, £k

% change

Surrey Heath

5,379

5,501

-122

-2.22%

Birmingham CrossCity

47,736

48,806

-1,070

-2.19%

Isle of Wight

10,607

10,803

-196

-1.81%

South Devon and Torbay

20,421

20,795

-374

-1.80%

Ashford

7,196

7,321

-125

-1.71%

South Sefton

12,183

12,387

-204

-1.65%

Harrogate and Rural District

9,416

9,557

-141

-1.48%

North Derbyshire

19,204

19,439

-235

-1.21%

Guildford and Waverley

11,492

11,609

-117

-1.01%

Scarborough and Ryedale

7,468

7,538

-70

-0.93%

Calderdale

13,728

13,846

-118

-0.85%

Leeds North

12,559

12,665

-106

-0.84%

North East Lincolnshire

11,157

11,246

-89

-0.79%

Bath and North East Somerset

11,008

11,091

-83

-0.75%

North Norfolk

11,472

11,553

-81

-0.70%

North Lincolnshire

10,930

11,006

-76

-0.69%

Camden

18,049

18,170

-121

-0.67%

Fylde and Wyre

10,892

10,961

-69

-0.63%

Thanet

9,638

9,699

-61

-0.63%

Doncaster

21,942

22,078

-136

-0.62%

Only three of these CCGs were judged to be underfunded by the end of 2016-17.

A small minority of CCGs’ BCF allocations will fall because of adjustments to their overall budget in 2016-17. This is behind the larger shifts in BCF contributions in Surrey Heath and in Birmingham.

Councils are in discussions with CCGs over how to manage the better care fund next year.

A spokesman for Devon County Council, where the CCGs’ minimum contribution to the BCF will fall overall, said the impact on social care was not yet known because the council and CCGs have not yet decided whether to put extra money into the fund from their general allocations to make up the difference.

A spokeswoman for North Yorkshire County Council, which could also be hit by funding reductions from CCGs, said transferring NHS cash into the BCF had played a “vital role” in protecting social care. They are in dialogue with CCGs about next year’s BCF.